The 45-year-old McDonald's at 600 Marble Ave. in Thornwood reopened on Friday, Nov. 3 after a months-long renovation, to the relief of regular customers throughout the town of Mount Pleasant. A renovated McDonald's reopens on Tuesday in Peekskill.Photo Credit: Jon CraigThe McDonald's restaurant in Thornwood as it looked Thursday, Nov. 2, the day before reopening after a months-long renovation project at the mainstay along the Saw Mill River Parkway. Another renovated McDonald's will reopen on Tuesday in Peekskill.Photo Credit: Jon Craig

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Happy meals are here again at two McDonald's mainstays in Thornwood and Peekskill.

The 45-year-old McDonald's restaurant reopened on Friday, Nov. 3 at 600 Marble Ave. in Thornwood after a months-long renovation project.

And the grand reopening of the McDonald's at the Blue Mountain Center off Welcher Avenue in Peekskill is planned on Tuesday, Nov. 7, according to a McDonalds spokeswoman. More details on Peekskill's 10 a.m. reopening ceremony
can be found by clicking here.

The Thornwood McDonald's was among the franchise's first to open nationwide nearly a half-century ago and is a popular stop for motorists traveling along the Saw Mill River Parkway. (Does anyone recall burgers ceremonially selling for a penny a piece -- or was it a dime -- when McD's first opened up?)

In August, the Marble Avenue restaurant began renovations with a "soft closing" in which there was limited indoor access and then drive-through-only service.

Thornwood's reopening originally was set for Oct. 13, but got delayed due for finishing touches.

Amanda Pisano, a corporate McDonald's spokeswoman, said both locations feature a modern restaurant experience "that offers guests an enhanced level of choice, engagement and service."

McDonald’s goal is to modernize and update most U.S. restaurants by 2020. The New York Metro Region – comprised of parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – is an "early adopter region and one of the first to roll out these changes in the United States," Pisano said.

To date, the New York Metro region has renovated and modernized more than 150 of the region’s 565 restaurants, with an additional 18 projects currently underway, she said.

Other recent renovations, including one at Arcadian Shopping Center off Route 9 in Ossining, added self-service kiosks to help personalize orders and increase efficiency. Digital self-order kiosks can make ordering and paying for a meal easier, according to Pisano.

Some guests’ orders are now being delivered to tables by McDonald’s crew members. McDonald’s owner/operators and restaurant teams "are placing a higher emphasis on hospitality by focusing on greeting customers, assisting with technology and ensuring a clean, welcoming environment," Pisano said.